Back in March, restaurants were forced to close their doors to curb the spread of coronavirus. But for many, that didn’t mean shutting up shop altogether.
Enter the DIY meal kit, a fun way of recreating the restaurant experience at home. A way to support local businesses without venturing out of your own abode - the perfect lockdown entertainment!
This innovation has gained popularity in and out of London, with many well-known establishments now offering nationwide delivery. You may well have already ordered one for yourself, but have you ever thought of them as a tool for team building?
Team building in the time of social distancing can feel like a mammoth task, but it’s not. Socialising, working collaboratively, solving problems, and having fun together are all possible to do remotely. (We’ve written a whole blog post about it!)
Creating food together - while physically apart - is an effective way of doing all of those things. Getting creative in the kitchen, sharing tips and tricks via Zoom, and having a good, informal catch-up is the ideal environment for stress-free team building. And who doesn’t love a tasty meal?
So, here are some of our favourite DIY meal kits that you can order via Pantry Packages to enjoy with your remote teams:
The popular pizza chain has pulled it out the bag with their DIY pizza kits that require no fancy equiptment! In fact, Pizza Pilgrims kits are designed to be made in a frying pan.
So, gather your teams, dial into Zoom, and get frying! Your colleagues can make either a classic Margherita or a meaty Nduja.
In each kit, you'll receive enough ingredients to make two pizzas, including 48-hour proved dough made with Caputo flour from Naples, marinara sauce, fior di latte, extra olive oil, fresh basil, and parmesan.
After you're finished, make sure your teams take a few snaps of their creations to share on the company intranet (or Instagram!).
Comfort food at its finest, pasta is a delicious meal all year long, and Pasta Evangelists knows how to create the perfect bowl.
Whether you want to whip up a mouth-watering dish in five minutes with a pre-prepared sauce, or learn how to make your own pasta from scratch, these DIY kits make the ideal team bonding experience.
Meat, fish, no-gluten, veggie, and vegan options available, as well as nationwide home delivery.
Patty&Bun make mouth-watering burgers in their London and Brighton restaurants, and now they’ve brought out DIY kits for you and your colleagues to try at home!
Choose between meat and vegan burgers, with P&B classics like the Ari Gold cheeseburger and Smokey Robinson! You can even add on some Patty Pils beers to make your virtual team-building experience even more of an occasion.
Dial into Zoom, crack open a cold one, and get ready to create the burger of your dreams!
Team-building activities should always include tasty food. Fact. So, it’s a good job that the award-winning Crust Bros have released their Neopolitan pizza kits for you all to enjoy at home.
With meaty, vegan, and no-gluten options available, the whole team can take part! You can order kits with ready-made dough or have a go at kneading some of your own for an extra challenge.
Why not have a competition to see who can make the best one? Take photos of your Italian creations and share them anonymously with your colleagues for some Bake Off-style judging.
Whether it’s a showstopper or a little less aesthetically pleasing, we’re sure that it’ll get a 10 for taste. Buon appetito!
Dirty Bones is another of London's beloved burger chains in on the DIY kit hype! This time, the Mac Daddy mac and cheese burger is on the menu, as well as the Dirty Vegan, lamb fries, and a trio of cocktails. It's the whole shebang!
Planning a team brainstorming meeting? Fuel your creativity with a tasty burger and a fun activity to get everyone feeling awake and energised.
Momo Canteen offers a range of delicious DIY kits - from noodles, to curry, dumplings to soup. Get your teams together for a food-tastic bonding experience and enjoy the likes of:
- Chicken pho soup noodles
- Spicy prawn laksa
- Massaman tofu curry
- Japanese pumpkin katsu
There are options to suit various dietary needs, so the whole team can get involved!
Fancy an Italian feast to accompany your next quarterly meeting? Cochiglia's DIY pizza and pasta kits have your name on them!
Create classics at home, like:
- Spaghetti bolognese
- Carbonara
- Rigatoni
- Margherita pizza
- Calzone
And lots more!
Don't fancy eating a whole meal during your team bonding activities? Why not opt for a dessert DIY kit instead? These cupcake decorating kits from Lola's Cupcakes would be perfect. Cake is the best way to celebrate team wins, big and small!
Choose between the classic kit and create some of Lola's iconic cakes, or order the unicorn kit for a deliciously magical treat.
All of the DIY kits are available for nationwide delivery.
BakesterBox specialises in DIY baking kits with easy step-by-step instructions that even your most baking-averse colleagues can follow!
Try making cinnamon buns for your next team bonding session, or how about a dark chocolate tart? There are no-gluten and vegan options available too.
So, don your best aprons and get baking!
Pleese order these DIY cheesecake kits for your colleagues! They're fun, fabulous, and oh-so-delicious!
Let your colleagues choose between the Pick 'n' Mix cheesecake, for sweetie fans, or the Fully Loaded, for the chocoholics among your teams.
Get to know each other better while decorating to your hearts' content with a DIY kit from Pleesecakes.
Make team building sweet with DIY hot donut sundae kits from Treats Club. Oreo-stuffed donut bites with homemade chocolate syrup, salted caramel sauce, marshmallow fluff, and more.
All you and your teams need to do is fry the donuts, add all the toppings you want, and devour!
For extra team-building points, why not pop on a shared playlist while you assemble your sundaes? Let each team member choose a song or two, so everyone’s happy and let the dessert party begin!
Celebrating a big team achievement? There’s no better way to say ‘congrats!’ than with cake!
Kute Cake’s decorating kits are the perfect way to unwind after a long week and are ideal for virtual team-building. Each of your colleagues will receive a kit containing four cupcake sponges, pre-made frosting, sprinkles, writing icing tubes, mini cookies, and more!
Challenge your teams to make the prettiest cupcake or keep it chilled and let their creativity run wild.
And last but not least, dig in!
Want to order Pantry Packages DIY kits for your work-from-home teams? Get started by clicking the button below or emailing foodguru@citypantry.com.
Check out more of our virtual events hampers here.